The Way I Am
by charley07
Summary: Hanna/Caleb songfic to Ingrid Michaelson's "The Way I Am." Set in the future.


**So this is my songfic for Hanna and Caleb. It's set in the future and in the future I envision for them (as many of you do) they're together. It's sort of cute and a little goofy but if you take out the Jenna drama, I always liked the playful banter of their relationship. And this isn't one of my favorite love songs but I really like it and it sort of fit with what I wanted to tell for them. Let me know what you think. I always like that. Or if you have song ideas for Spencer and Toby; I'm struggling a little with them. I think I've got Emily set though. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything _PLL-_related or "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson.**

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><p><em>If you were falling, then I would catch you.<br>You need a light, I'd find a match._

Hanna stood at the foot of the ladder and watched as Caleb climbed towards the attic of the old townhouse they'd just bought together in Rosewood.

"Have I ever told you that I'm terrified of heights?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Oh, whoa," she joked. "Stop the presses. Caleb Rivers is afraid of something? Who knew? Don't worry, I'll catch you if you slip and fall the four feet to the thickly carpeted floor."

"Stop it," he rolled his eyes, pushing aside the hatch. "There could be bats up here but its dark so I can't really see anything."

She walked down the hall to the kitchen momentarily and hurried back to toss him something. "Here."

"Matches?" he deadpanned. "I say it's dark and you give me matches? Don't you think a flashlight might've been better?"

"Maybe," she shrugged jokingly. "But you're up there and I'm down here so you get what I give you."

"Then I guess I'll take it," he grumbled, making his way into the attic. "No bats but it's fucking hot."

Moments later, his shirt flew down onto her head.

"If you're trying to get me up there, it's not working!" she yelled as his mesh shorts followed seconds later. "Damn you, Caleb Rivers," she muttered, eyeing the ladder. "If I come up there, it'll only get hotter."

He stuck his head over the opening. "I'm counting on it."

_Cause I love the way you say good morning.  
>And you take me the way I am.<br>_

Hanna opened her eyes and found Caleb staring at her from his pillow. "Hi."

He reached over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Good morning, princess."

"It's been nine years since you first met me," she reminded him. "Can't we retire that nickname?"

"Never," he denied. "It's how I like you best. I know you're high-maintenance and demanding and stubborn and sometimes even bratty but I love you all the same."

"Nice to know you think so highly of me," she smirked.

"Han, I couldn't think any higher of you if I tried," he assured her, pressing his lips to hers. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she smiled, snuggling closer to him.

_If you are chilly, here take my sweater.  
>Your head is aching, I'll make it better.<br>_

Caleb walked into the kitchen on a Friday night and found Hanna cooking dinner in only a baggy sweater and matching lingerie set.

"Not that I'm complaining," he spoke up, "but how are you wearing that? I'm freezing."

"I came home from hot yoga and am still feeling it," she replied, stirring the spaghetti sauce. She looked over her shoulder at him slyly and let the sweater drop off her shoulder. "If you're cold, you can have this."

He walked over and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'll take it just to get you out of it."

"If you're going to be perverted, I'm keeping it," she replied, checking the noodles. "How was work?"

"Terrible," he complained. "It's amazing that anyone can just have a computer because so few people know how to use them. If I weren't paid so well to program them, I'd have quit a long time ago. I hate coming home every day with a splitting headache."

Hanna let the food simmer as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You want some aspirin or a drink or something?"

"No," he shook his head, holding her close. "This is good for now."

_Cause I love the way you call me baby.  
>And you take me the way I am.<em>

"Han?" Caleb called out as he made his way up the stairs of their house. "I'm gonna head to the gym. You need anything while I'm out?" He heard sniffling coming from their bathroom so he followed the sound and found her sitting on the toilet seat, crying. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm so sorry," she apologized quietly. "I know I should've told you as soon as I started feeling weird but I tried to ignore it, thinking it was just a virus or something."

Caleb knelt down in front of her. "I'm freaking out here a little. What's up?"

"I was shopping with Aria this morning for Barrett's birthday party on Saturday and we had to stop on the sidewalk so I could throw up into a garbage can," she explained, unable to look him in the eyes. "Aria—having a kid already—was convinced I'm pregnant so she practically bullied me into buying a test. So I did."

"And?" he demanded, taking her hands into his. "Are we—are we having a baby?"

She reached between her legs and held up the positive test. "Unless we're lucky and this is a false-positive." Tears streamed down her face as she finally met his eyes with hers. "I'm so sorry. I know this wasn't planned and we're so young and we aren't even married. And I don't want to get married. I mean, of course I do but not because of this. God, I'm making such a mess of everything."

"Baby," he cut her off, standing up and pulling her with him. "You do this thing where you rant when you're nervous and you're doing it now but you have no reason to. You're right, we're young and we weren't expecting this and most people are going to think it's strange we're not married but I don't care. We're having a baby. You and me. And right now, that's what matters most." He kissed her softly. "And one day, we will get married and everyone who judges us for having a baby beforehand can kiss my ass."

"So this is okay?" she breathed, wiping her eyes. "You don't like, totally hate me for being pregnant?"

"Never," he denied, pressing his forehead to hers. "I love you."

_I'd buy you Rogaine when you start losing all your hair.  
>Sew on patches to all you tear.<em>

"Is this supposed to be a joke?"

Hanna looked up from her project to see Caleb standing at the door of the nursery they'd been working on, holding the Rogaine she'd put on his side of their sink that afternoon. "No, why?"

"Rogaine, princess?" he scoffed. "Do you think I'm losing my hair?"

"I don't," she denied, "but last weekend while you and Lucas were painting in here, you got paint on the woodwork and started freaking out, saying all this preparation is making you an insomniac and your diet is off and you think you're going to lose your hair so I thought I'd be proactive about it and help you out."

He saw the glimmer of mischief in her eyes so he knew she'd done it all to get a rise out of him. "You're a real jerk sometimes."

"That may be but I'm pregnant with your child so what are you gonna do?" she shrugged, cutting the thread she was working with.

"What exactly are you doing there, Martha Stewart?" he asked, walking over to the rocking chair she was sitting in.

"Well, during said freak out, you ripped a hole near the knee of your favorite jeans so I'm patching them," she explained. "I know I'm too far along in my pregnancy to really help you do anything with the nursery but I did go to design school so this is something I can do to help." She finished her work and held up the jeans, showing off the new gray and blue plaid patch on the well-worn jeans. "Ta-da."

"You didn't have to do this," he told her, holding them up to examine. "I could've just thrown them away."

"No!" she cried. "These are the jeans you were wearing the night we got back together for good freshman year in Boston."

"You remember that?" he asked.

With a bit of a struggle, she stood up and took his face between her hands. "First, of course I remember it; that was the best night of my life. And second, I studied fashion so I remember everything you've ever worn and when you wore it."

"There's a super power that would come in handy," he joked, following her out of the nursery.

"I'd totally kick your ass," she smirked.

_Cause I love you more than I could ever promise.  
>And you take me the way I am.<br>You take me the way I am.  
>You take me the way I am.<em>


End file.
